VOLUNTEER PROFILE: BETSY DORSEY
Betsy Dorsey has been volunteering for AFCA since 2010.
As she started out slowly in the beginning, she began taking on more responsibilities for her time on duty, which then led to her becoming the AFCA warehouse manager.
As the warehouse manager, she coordinates the pickup of donations. She oversees the preparation and packaging of all the supplies and equipment that will be shipped to help benefit kids who are in need. Four to five times a year, Dorsey and other workers load containers that consist of the equipment, and each container must be loaded within two hours. This means that they must strategize how and where they are going to place the supplies and equipment days before the volunteers begin to load the containers onto the truck.
Although sometimes she can struggle with certain responsibilities, there are other workers who assist Dorsey when she is in need of help with a difficult task.
“I had a friend of mine join us for a couple container loadings,” Dorsey said. He is a manager in the trucking business, and he taught me a lot about how to better load containers by maximizing space”.
When Dorsey receives help from people such as the trucking business manager, she says that ACFA gets 25% more items in the containers, making the process of loading the truck much simpler for all of the volunteers and most certainly, eases Dorsey’s duties.
Although it may be a challenge for her, she finds a joy in her job with AFCA. When she completes some of her tasks, it can bring a smile to her face because she knows her hard work is helping someone else who may be in need.
“Getting ready to stage and load is my favorite time in the warehouse, and as busy as it can get, I love watching the tractor trailer leave as it is full of life-changing supplies,” Dorsey said. “It makes all of the hours of packing and sorting worth it”.
Dorsey had the opportunity to visit hospitals in Uganda to see the equipment and supplies being used. It was an incredible experience to recognize beds, IV poles, incubators, and other equipment we’d packed up in Pennsylvania and now being used in Uganda. The visits brought everything full circle and gave Dorsey a true view of how far-reaching her work really is.
Although Dorsey does not know when the next donation will come, she is making sure that everyone is prepared for when it is time to get back to work.